FRIDAY, 31ST MAY
CHAP. VIII
be embarked in a ship capable of keeping 2 wireless lines for communication purposes, and at 0645/31 he embarked in such a ship, viz. the flotilla leader
Keith, and thereafter (until she was sunk 24 hours later) kept her free from troops so that his movements should be unrestricted¹.
One of the four M.T.B.'s, viz: M.T.B.67, had been ferrying troops to the gunboat Mosquito at 1915 from La Panne beach, and her commanding Officer,
Lieut. C. C. Anderson, R.N., says, It is desired to express appreciation of an unknown soldier, who, although severely wounded about the face and head and on the point of collapse, remained quietly in the water watching M.T.B.67
draw away because he thought we looked full up and might not want him.
This man was of course taken on board".
Meanwhile anxiety was felt at Dover at the non-appearance of Lord Gort and at 2336, the Admiralty sent a peremptory signal to Rear-Admiral Wake-
Walker demanding an explanation. Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker says,
" About 2300 I received an urgent signal from Admiralty asking where Lord
Gort was and why I had detailed the M.T.B.'s sent for him to other work.
As the M.A./S.B. [i.e. M.A/S.B.6] had just returned with [Lt. Cdr.] C. J. Wynne-
Edwards², I sent it off at once to Hebe to collect Lord Gort it came back almost at once to say that Lord Gort had just left Hebe in a motor launch. It was very dark and Hebe could not be seen though we knew where she was, and
I waited anxiously for the boat to arrive. Presently out of the dark a boat appeared and came alongside, still not the right one, and I had a bad moment thinking of the boat getting lost. However, to my relief, after what appeared about half an hour, the right boat, in charge of [Commodore] Stephenson once more, found us at last. Apologising to Lord Gort for keeping him waiting so long, I transferred him to the M.A/S.B. and sent him off to Dover with General
Leese".³
In the meantime, a little before 1800, Lord Gort's staff had been embarked during an air attack by the Keith's boats at a point 2 miles west of La Panne.
Signal communication established between Dunkirk and Dover⁴
At daylight on the 31st full signal communication was at length established between Dunkirk and Dover.
On the 26th May the destroyer Wolsey had been despatched to Dunkirk to act as W/T link. The S.N.O., Dunkirk, on arrival next day, decided, however, that conditions in the port made it impossible for a destroyer to lie there. On the morning of the 27th May Commander M. O. D. Ellwood, R.N., who had been placed in charge of communications in Operation Dynamo", proceeded to Dunkirk in the Wolfhound that afternoon with a signal party consisting of one yeoman of signals and 24 signalmen, who were distributed between Naval headquarters at Dunkirk (one yeoman and 8 signalmen) and the beach parties
(2 signalmen each). The only equipment available other than hand flags was one Aldis lamp, which was taken over from the British Naval Liaison Officer and made to function with the help of a battery acquired from a French motor car.
A Headquarters signal station was established at the shore end of the East
Pier for communication with ships arriving, but until 30th May, when one
Naval wireless set arrived, there was no means of communication between
I R.A. Dover - Report of Proceedings (R.O.III, p.374, para. 19).
2 He had been engaged in directing the then arriving tows of boats to the beaches.
3 M.017978/41, page 21.
4 R.O. Case 5458, Vol. III, p.417.
67
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